


you're the universe i'm helpless in

by afire



Series: atlas [2]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, Hogwarts AU, alternating povs, anyway don't argue with me about sorting i'll die on this hill, pen & hope brotp, this is very long and nothing happens but so be it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 08:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18546109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: Penelope pulls herself closer, delighting in the way Josie’s breaths seem to stutter. “If you don’t want me to fall,” she says slowly, each word clipped and rounded, “then don’t push.”(or: how two girls trip into love, with a little help along the way)





	you're the universe i'm helpless in

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my best friend Michelle for helping me read through an extraordinary amount of words even though she has no personal stake in the fandom or these characters, love you!

"Wait, how much peppermint do we need?"

"Just two leaves, please don't throw the whole plant in."

"Uh-"

Penelope glances up, eyes narrowing as Hope refuses to look at her. "If we have to start the whole thing over because you didn't stop long enough to read the clearly written instructions, I'm going to _tarantallegra_ you in your sleep."

"You can't get into the Gryffindor common room."

"It's just a password, I'll scare it out of one of the first-years."

Hope throws a knife at her. Penelope rolls her eyes, waving her hand to slow it down before plucking it out of the air and putting it back on the chopping board.

"Do we have to start this over?"

"No, I didn't even get the peppermint from the cupboard yet."

"You're useless, why are we paired up?"

"Because when the homework is to, inevitably, write an essay on the history and uses of Amortentia, I'll do it for the both of us," Hope says, lips pulling into a cheeky grin. "But if you keep being mean to me, maybe I won't."

"Hope, did I tell you today that you're my best friend? Just, the most perfect friend anyone could have?"

"No, but that's very nice of you to say Penelope. Thank you."

"Great, now stop being an asshole and go get that peppermint."

 

✧

 

They finish the potion before the period ends, mostly because Penelope skips a few redundant steps that would've just slowed the whole process down.

Hope watches as she gives a final stir and the liquid goes from dark purple to a very bright pink.

"Wow, a little stereotypical don't you think?"

"I, a witch, am currently stirring this cauldron with a big wooden spoon. I think the Amortentia gets to be pink."

Hope laughs, pushing herself up so that she can sit on the table. "I guess you're right." She leans over the cauldron, as if trying to find her reflection in the potion. "Are we done? We get to bounce if we finish early."

"You don't want to bounce, you just want to go see what your girlfriend's doing," Penelope says, looking up just in time to see Hope's slightly affronted expression. She grins, setting the spoon down. "Yes, we're done. You can tell because of the smell."

"What smell?"

"Okay, you're writing our essay, so I'm a little concerned that you don't know this."

"Shut up, you know I don't do the pre-class reading."

"It's a love potion, you dope. It's supposed to smell like the things we love."

Hope leans in again, this time inhaling deeply as she hovers over the cauldron.

"What're you getting?"

There's a pause in which Penelope can hear the group behind them struggling to crush up their moonstone. Then Hope sits back, face screwed up as if she's trying to remember something.

Penelope leans against the table, fingers drumming across the stone. "So? Anything interesting?"

"I got a bit of the forest, like the trees and stuff. Uh, those candles that my aunts like to use, and there's something else." She frowns, staring off into the distance. "It's like, a little sweet but also fruity."

"Just hazarding a guess here." Penelope chances a glance across the classroom to see Josie counting out rose petals while her sister squints down at what appears to be a textbook. "What kind of shampoo does Lizzie use?"

Hope blinks, head tilting confusedly to the side. "What does that have to do with- oh."

"Congrats, if you make me wear an ugly dress at the wedding, I'll hex you before you get to go on your honeymoon."

"Shut up." Hope slaps her across the shoulder, the grin on her face betraying her faux anger. "When do you think they'll be done?"

"Why? Want to see if you're in Lizzie's potion?"

"Don't you want to see if you're in Josie's?"

Penelope shrugs, glancing across the classroom again before settling her gaze back on Hope. "It'd be nice if I was, but I'm not going to assume."

"Well, it's your turn then."

"What?"

Hope nods toward the cauldron. "What's yours?"

"I'm only doing this because you're writing my essay," Penelope says, before leaning over the cauldron and taking a deep breath. She gets the vaguest sensation of floating through the air before the scents actually hit.

Something sweet, like a handful of candy, definitely Honeydukes. Then something fresher, like early evenings and wintertime air. They stay for a while before something else rises to the top. It's distinctly floral, with a hint of vanilla. Penelope recognises it immediately.

When she opens her eyes, Hope is staring at her intently.

"So? What was it?"

"Honeydukes candy, something like winter, and that perfume Josie likes to use."

"What?"

"Do you want me to repeat myself?"

"No, wait. What? Did you just say what I think you did?"

"Do you need to get your ears checked, Mikaelson?"

Hope hops off the table, pointing a finger at Penelope. "Did you just tell me that you're in love with Josie?"

"No, I did not say any of those words in that order."

"You're unbelievable, just ask her out."

Penelope rolls her eyes, reaching to pick up her textbook to shove in her bag. "I told you, I don't want to make the first move."

"Are you possessed? Is there something wrong with your head? Since when does Penelope Park not make the first move?"

"When she doesn't want to end a friendship over her own feelings."

Hope drops from where she'd been standing on her tiptoes, arms falling to her side. "For what it's worth," she says, punching Penelope lightly in the gut. "I think you've got a shot."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, now please go talk to your girlfriend before she burns a hole through the back of my head."

"Oh, right." Hope leans to the side, spots Lizzie from behind Penelope and gives her a wave. "See you at lunch?"

Penelope grins, picks up her bag and swings it over her shoulder. "Only if you're lucky," she says, laughing when Hope spins back around to glare at her.

There's still ten minutes left of class, but she's allowed to leave because they've finished their potion. Mostly she's going because she doesn't think talking to Josie is the best idea right now, so Penelope figures she'll catch up with them at lunch.

She's got a Charms essay to finish writing anyway.

 

* * *

 

Josie looks up just as Hope arrives and the _locomotor_ she mutters is the only thing that saves Lizzie from impaling her own foot with the knife she drops in favour of hugging her girlfriend.

"Nice to see you too, Hope," she says, plucking the knife out of the air and setting it carefully back down next to the chopping board.

Hope doesn't look like she's about to disengage anytime soon, so Josie gets on her tiptoes so she can look across the classroom.

Most of the class is still there, frantically trying to finish their potion before the period is over. Far back in the other corner of the room, Hope's bench is empty, with just the cauldron of freshly brewed Amortentia sitting on the table.

Josie gets to feel disappointed for half a second before Lizzie is walking into her line of sight, snapping her fingers.

"Hey! How close are we to done?"

"We would already be done if you hadn't taken a break to reunite with your girlfriend."

Hope has the decency to look just a little sheepish as she steps out from behind Lizzie. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that Pen said she would meet us at lunch?"

Josie doesn't deign to answer, simply picking up the wooden spoon and stirring counter-clockwise thrice. The potion goes from a murky red to dark purple, which means now all they have to do is keep stirring clockwise until it goes bright pink.

She says as much to Lizzie, who picks up the spoon with a long-suffering sigh, but is stopped from reaching the cauldron when Hope sticks an arm out.

"Wait," she says. "Is this your last step?"

Josie flicks quickly through her textbook before nodding. "Yeah, we just have to stir until it turns bright pink."

"Okay, after every third clockwise stir, go counter-clockwise once. It'll go faster that way."

Lizzie, who wouldn't question it if Hope told her to throw the whole cauldron away and start over, immediately follows her instructions.

"Where'd you get that idea from?" Josie asks, keeping an eye on the potion to make sure that they aren't messing it up.

Hope shrugs. "Pen told me. She had a bunch of other shortcuts too but I wasn't really paying attention. It's probably why we finished so quickly."

"Why'd she bounce?" Lizzie asks absentmindedly, still busy stirring.

"I don't know, you can ask when we see her at lunch."

Josie zones out of their conversation as she busies herself with cleaning up the table, muttering _scourgify_ to clear the chopping board before sending it back into the equipment cupboard with a wave of her wand.

They haven't really made that much of a mess, so by the time Lizzie is declaring that she's done stirring, Josie's already pushing her textbook back into her bag, ready to hotfoot it to Charms. There's a chance that Penelope is already there, perhaps finishing the essay that's due today.

"I'll see you guys at lunch," she says, swinging her bag up onto her shoulder. "Have fun at Divination."

"Oh, wait!" Hope latches onto her arms, pulls her back toward the able. "What's in your Amortentia?"

"What? Like, ingredients?"

Hope is shaking her head before Josie finishes the sentence. "No, I mean like what does yours smell like."

Oh, right. In her haste to get to Charms, and hopefully steal a minute or two of alone time with Penelope, she'd totally forgotten about the properties of the potion they'd just spent the past two hours brewing.

"What did you get?" Josie asks, figuring it's only fair that Hope reveals hers, if she's asking them about theirs.

"The forest, those candles my aunts like to use, and Lizzie's shampoo," Hope says, no trace of hesitation in her voice, even as Lizzie herself turns to look at her, eyes wide. "What? You know that I love you, this shouldn't come as a surprise."

Josie rolls her eyes, leaving her sister to wrap her mind around the fact that her girlfriend is, indeed, in love with her. She leans over the cauldron, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.

The first thing that hits is morning dew, fresh off the lawn next to the lake, then something sweeter, chocolate chip cookies like her mum likes to bake. The third is harder to pin down, definitely pleasant, but not specific enough to identify. Josie doesn't really get the chance to think too hard about it before Hope is shaking her out of her thoughts.

"So? How was it?"

"Uh, I got morning dew, my mum's chocolate chip cookies, and something else."

Hope raises a single eyebrow. "Something else?"

"Yeah, I can't really tell what it is." Josie wants to take another breath, but the sudden shuffling in the classroom indicates that the period is over. She now has two minutes to navigate the four trick staircases between the dungeons and the Charms classroom before she's late. "Oh, I have to go. See you guys at lunch!"

Josie starts weaving her way out of the classroom, hoping that Penelope has saved her a seat.

It's the least she could do for leaving Potions early.

 

* * *

 

Penelope finishes her essay with thirty seconds to spare, and with a flick of her wand sends it soaring across the room to land neatly on top of the growing pile on Professor Flitwick's desk.

Almost immediately after, the doors fly open and the rest of the class starts flooding in. Amongst the flurry of shuffling papers as everyone else submits their essays, the sound of a chair scraping backwards has Penelope turning to her right. Several scathing comments are ready in her open mouth but she snaps it shut when she realizes it's Josie, and not some random classmate.

"Hey, Jojo. Did you finish your potion?"

Josie leans one arm on the table, chin falling to rest in her hand as she turns to face Penelope. "We did, but we would've finished faster if you'd been so nice as to share the various shortcuts you apparently had."

Penelope grins, gaze flickering past Josie to see that the door to Flitwick's study has just been opened and the professor himself is hopping onto the step stool from which he usually lectures from.

"Maybe," she says, lowering her voice and leaning in close, delighting in the way Josie's eyes glaze over, just for a second. "You just needed to ask."

Flitwick calls for attention, and Penelope straightens in her seat, gaze gliding to settle squarely on the blackboard.

Maybe she's just a little smug that it takes Josie a second to recalibrate, but no one else needs to know that.

 

✧

 

"Now remember, pronunciation is key, even more so when the spell is nonverbal." Flitwick taps the blackboard, where the incantation is written. "Split into pairs to practice, you have until the end of the lesson."

Penelope turns to her right, where Josie answers her unasked question by drawing her own wand and saying, "Okay, who's going first?"

"Not that your enthusiasm isn't appreciated, but we haven't even decided what we're sticking together yet."

Josie mulls over this for a second before offering Penelope her hand.

"What? You want me to glue your fingers together?"

"No, silly. Give me your hand."

Penelope obliges without question, even though she's still confused. "You want to glue my fingers together?"

Josie rolls her eyes, and instead of giving Penelope an answer, simply swishes her wand over their joined hands.

"So, what now?" Penelope asks, when nothing seems to happen.

"Your turn, I guess," Josie says, but when she tries to pull her hand away, Penelope goes along with it, tumbling forward. The only reason she doesn't fall out of her chair is because she's now braced against Josie's shoulder, their hands squashed between their bodies.

"Well," Penelope says, pushing herself back up. "I guess it worked."

There’s a blush, one that she’s apparently doing her level best to ignore, creeping onto Josie’s face as she stares fixedly at their joined, and now glued together, hands. "Uh, I guess so."

Penelope lets the silence drag on a little longer than she has to before she laughs. "You know, if you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask."

"Shut up! I don't know how to undo the spell."

"I feel like you should've thought of that before gluing our hands together."

Josie finally looks her in the eye, the expression on her face part adoration, part exasperation. "Well, can you undo it?"

"I don't know the specific counter, but there's always _finite incantatem_ ," Penelope says, waving her wand over their hands as she recites the spell.

There's a barely audible pop, and then Josie is pulling her hand back, shaking it a little as if she's trying to remember how to use it.

"If you're quite done over there, I still need to have a go."

"No, you don't." Josie looks up, eyes bright with amusement. "You could do this spell without even using your wand, and we both know it."

Penelope allows herself to indulge in a grin, not bothering to hide how pleased she is with the fact that Josie has made that observation. "In that case, do you want to try again? Maybe not on our hands this time?"

"You're never letting me live that down, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

 

✧

 

Later, after Josie has successfully managed to stick every single one of her quills to the table and Penelope has unstuck them for her, they're meandering through the corridor, heading toward the Great Hall for lunch.

"How was your Amortentia, by the way?" Penelope asks as they round a corner, and she has to take a sidestep so as not to run into a suit of armour that definitely hadn't been there that morning. "Did it turn out okay?"

"Yeah, Hope told us your stirring trick at the end so we finished it before the lesson ended."

"Oh, really? You were almost late to Charms."

"Hope made me stay and tell her what I could smell in the potion."

They fall silent as they reach the East Wing staircase, making sure to hop over the third stair from the top.

"What'd you get?" Penelope asks, after they've safely made their way to the bottom.

"Uh, my mum's chocolate chip cookies, early mornings, and this other thing. It's nice, but I can't really tell what it is."

"Try describing it?"

"It's like, food? Nothing specific, just the smell of food being cooked."

"Like the Great Hall? When we're having lunch or dinner."

"No, it's different. I can't really explain, but it's nice."

Penelope's next question is interrupted by the appearance of Hope and Lizzie, who look like they've just run all the way down from the Divination tower, where the Gryffindors have just had class.

"Had a good time?" Penelope asks, because poking fun at them will never stop being entertaining.

"Not at all, apparently my tea leaves said I'm going to lose all my money tomorrow," Hope says dryly, turning so that she can continue toward the Great Hall.

Penelope falls into step next to her, leaving the sisters to follow after them. "Damn, I was going to rob you in your sleep," she says, laughing when Hope shoves at her. "Change of plans I suppose."

"Again, you don't know the password to the Gryffindor common room."

"And again, I can scare it out of one of the first years."

Hope is saved from answering when Josie's voice rings out from behind them.

"No scaring the first years, Pen!"

Penelope turns, walking backwards for a moment just so she can pout at Josie's stern expression. "But it's so fun! I don't even really have to do anything."

"That's because of your demonic aura," Lizzie says, grin betraying the snark in her tone.

"Why thank you, I try my best."

 

* * *

 

Josie would never admit this, but she prefers sitting at the Slytherin table. It's home turf, which helps, but also the Gryffindors can get really rowdy at times and she'd really rather not have to duck every three seconds because something is being thrown across the table.

All things considered, she's glad Penelope had won that silent stare-down with Hope and she doesn't have to _protego_ a barrier around herself just so she can have a peaceful meal.

"So, how was Charms?"

Josie tears her eyes away from where Penelope and Hope are fighting over whose turn it is to pass the salt, settling her attention on her sister instead. "Oh, good. We learned _epoximise_ as a nonverbal."

“Was it easy? I’ve got Charms last today.”

“It was fine, we didn’t learn the counter but _finite incantatem_ is enough to get rid of it.”

Lizzie hums in acknowledgement. “What did you stick together?”

“Our hands,” Penelope says, interrupting Josie’s flustered answer. Hope, who she had been previously talking to, looks positively delighted at this reveal.

“Oh, really?” she asks, leaning across the table, eyes mischievously bright. “If you wanted to hold her hand, you could’ve just asked.”

“That’s what I said!” Penelope laughs, clearly pleased that she’s got someone on her side.

Josie turns desperately to her sister, hoping that at the very least Lizzie will get them to stop talking about it.

No such luck. In fact, Lizzie just looks amused.

“You stuck your hands together? Really? Without knowing the counter spell?”

Josie is saved from having to come up with a decent answer to that when someone steps up behind Penelope, small hand tugging at the sleeve of her robes.

The girl herself turns around, face immediately softening when she sees that it's Pedro, one of the first years. Josie files a memory of the moment away, just in case she needs to remind Penelope that she's actually a big softie.

Pedro looks slightly alarmed, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he worries his bottom lip between his teeth.

Penelope turns in her seat so that she can face him properly. "Hey, buddy. Everything okay?"

He shrugs, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "There are people duelling in the hallway," he says finally. "They blew a hole in the wall."

"Are you okay? Did any of the spells hit you?"

Pedro shakes his head. "No, but I thought I should tell someone."

"You did good, kid." Penelope smiles at him, reaching out to mess with his hair until he's smiling back. "We'll go take care of it, okay? You go get something to eat."

"Okay!" Pedro nods, scampering off, probably in search of his friends.

Penelope sighs loudly before standing, rooting around for her wand. "Guess I have to go break up a fight."

"I'll come with you," Josie says, standing as well. "Only I can dock points," she adds, seeing Penelope gear up to argue about it.

"I can, too." Hope blinks as they both turn to her. "What? It's true. I'm not going out there, though. You're on your own."

"You're the one who's always talking about backup." Josie crosses her arms, levelling Penelope with a stare. "Bit hypocritical of you to go alone."

"Ugh, fine. But if you get hit with something, I'm not visiting you in the Hospital Wing." Penelope starts moving determinedly toward the doors, still searching for her wand.

"We both know that's not true," Josie says, scrambling to follow. "And between you and me, you're the one more likely to end up in there."

Penelope doesn't deign to answer and Josie just grins, happy to have won that one. Her victory, however, is short-lived, because she doesn't stop to check what's happening in the corridor before stepping out, and there's a hex flying toward her before she can make sense of what's happening.

It ricochets off a hastily crafted barrier, inches from her face, and when Josie turns she sees Penelope with her hand outstretched, eyes wide.

"You okay?"

Josie nods, flattening herself to the side of the corridor so that she isn't a potential target for anymore wayward jinxes. "Yeah, fine. Thanks for the save."

Penelope grins lopsidedly. "Always," she says, before turning and stalking up to the two duelling boys, ducking as another spell flies past her head.

Josie hurries to follow, pushing through the crowd of students that have begun to gather, not wanting the other girl to be standing in the thick of it alone.

"Hey, you!" Penelope hasn't found her wand yet, but the look on her face is menacing enough, and Josie knows she can do some pretty devastating damage even without her wand. "Yeah, don't look at me like that you bags of wasted potential. Duelling in the halls is against the rules."

One of the boys takes a step back, clearly ready to apologise, but the other one seems to square up, levelling his wand in Penelope's direction.

"What's it to you?"

"What's it to me?" Penelope takes a single step forward, lips stretching into a dangerous grin as the boy falters. "You scared Pedro, and then nearly took Josie's head off. If you're really looking for a duel, then you've found one."

At that moment, she seems to have finally found her wand, because it appears out of nowhere, suddenly between her fingers as she raises her hand.

It takes all of a second for Josie to realize that she should definitely intervene before Penelope slices the boy in half.

"Pen, don't." She steps forward, gently pushing on Penelope's wand arm so that she lowers it. "I'll handle it," Josie says under her breath before turning to the two boys. "I'm not going to dock points, but only because I don't know how many to take away." She eyes them both for a second. "I'm going to report this to Professor McGonagall, she can decide what to do with you."

The boys seem to sag, all the fight drained out of them as they nod before turning to slink into the Great Hall. The crowd of students doesn't immediately disperse, and Josie turns to Penelope, a silent plea for help.

Penelope makes the shooing motion with her hands. "Go on then, scram."

The students scurry away, and the corridor empties until it's just the two of them. Somehow, they've ended up slumped against  the wall, next to where a chunk of it has been taken out, presumably because of a stray hex.

"Thanks for the backup," Penelope says, after a couple seconds of silence.

When Josie turns to look at her, she's grinning, but it softens into a genuine smile soon enough.

"You sure you're okay?" she asks, reaching up to run a hand across Josie's face and down her neck, finally settling on her shoulder.

Josie lets herself lean into the touch, for once accepting the attention without trying to divert it. "Yeah, I'm fine." She covers Penelope's hand with her own, returning the other girl's smile. "Thanks again for the save."

"Always," Penelope says again, with a conviction that Josie would be a fool to ignore. "Do you want to go back in and finish our food?"

"Hope's probably gotten to it already."

"I'm going to murder her."

 

* * *

 

As a rule, Penelope isn't a fan of organized sports, or extracurricular activities of any sort. If she's required to do something outside of academia, chances are she'll find a way out of it.

Quidditch is her one exception, mostly because Hope plays, and also would not hesitate to hex Penelope's feet off if she didn't cheer her on. Besides, Josie always wants to watch, so by proxy so does Penelope.

Today, it's Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, so Penelope grudgingly borrows one of Hope's maroon and gold scarves and follows Josie up into the stands, trying not to look too miserable.

"Hope promised not to let it drag out for too long," Josie says, laughing when all Penelope does is cross her arms. "One hour, okay? And then we can go down to the kitchens, and I'll make you some hot cocoa."

"Hope is so lucky I don't hate her," Penelope says, in lieu of an actual answer.

"What about Lizzie?"

"I could take it or leave it."

Josie shoves at her, and instead of resisting, Penelope loosens the grip she has on the barrier, letting herself fall back. There's a split second where her shoes catch on the uneven ground, but then Josie's got an arm around her.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"You're the one who pushed me!"

"Well, yeah! But you weren't supposed to actually fall over!"

Penelope pulls herself closer, delighting in the way Josie’s breaths seem to stutter. “If you don’t want me to fall,” she says slowly, each word clipped and rounded, “then don’t push.”

Josie opens her mouth, but whatever she’s about to say is cut off by Madam Hooch’s whistle as she starts announcing the players. Penelope grins, giving the other girl a pat on the shoulder before straightening up and turning to face the pitch.

 

✧

 

True to her word, Hope doesn’t let the match drag on. Gryffindor scores a couple of goals, and then she’s rocketing toward a corner of the pitch, both arms outstretched.

Penelope watches with a grin, knowing that her friend is never going to hear the end of it from Lizzie later, because apparently letting go of the broom entirely is unsafe and she shouldn’t do it.

The move works though, because moments later Hope is pulling up, arms raised in victory. If Penelope squints, she can see a glimmer of gold trapped in one fist.

 “She did it.”

“Would having emotions, like, kill you?”

Penelope tucks her face into the scarf. “Yes,” she says, voice muffled by the thick fabric. “Can we go now? You promised me hot cocoa.”

The entire Gryffindor cheering section is already on the pitch, and they're definitely not going to get to Lizzie or Hope anytime soon, which is probably why Josie acquiesces.

"Hot cocoa, it's good for me," Penelope sings under her breath, humming happily as she weaves between other spectators, making sure to keep a firm grip on Josie's hand so that they don’t accidentally lose each other.

The crowd thins as they approach the edge of the pitch, disappearing completely when they make it into the school. Josie takes the lead then, directing them down the steps that lead to the Hufflepuff Basement.

Penelope lets herself get tugged along, allowing her mind to wander. Josie knows what to do, they've been down here dozens of times before, and the house-elves are always happy to let them sit in a corner and talk for hours.

Today is no different. The elves seem busy, probably with making dinner, but everyone says hello when they step in, and Penelope gives them all a wave.

"Do you think we can borrow some more of that hot cocoa today?" Josie asks, addressing the room at large.

One of the elves skids to a stop in front of them, the tin of cocoa powder appearing between her hands. "Here you go, miss! Just leave it on the counter when you're done with it."

Penelope takes it, smiling gratefully. "Thank you very much," she says, before turning and handing the tin to Josie. "There you are!"

"If I'm making the hot cocoa, you're going to go find our mugs."

"I can just-"

"No using _accio_ to summon them."

"What! That's not fair!" Penelope crosses her arms, but her resolve lasts about five seconds against Josie's blank stare. "Fine, I'll go find our mugs without using magic, see you in three years."

"I'll write you letters!" Josie calls after her.

 

✧

 

It takes significantly less than three years to find their mugs. In fact, it takes about seven minutes give or take. The whole process would've been faster, had Penelope accepted the help of the house-elves, but there's something very satisfying about stomping around the kitchen and rattling cupboards in an effort to showcase her largely feigned exasperation.

After locating the mugs, behind the large spice rack next to the microwave, Penelope toddles her way to the back of the kitchen, where Josie is waiting next to the kettle.

"I found them, without magic. Never make me do something like that again."

"No promises," Josie sings, taking the mugs from her with a grin.

Penelope hoists herself up onto the counter, swings her legs back and forth as she watches Josie spoon cocoa powder into their mugs.

"Do you think-"

"Don't ask me that question."

"You didn't even know what I was going to say!"

"Whatever it was, I don't want to hear it."

"That feels unfair."

Josie turns, passes Penelope a steaming mug. "Well, I guess you're just going to have to deal with it."

"I'll let it slide because you make the best hot cocoa in the world."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, but I'll take the compliment."

For a moment, they're both sipping at their mugs in silence, then Josie puts hers down, leans on the counter so that she can look up at Penelope.

"You know, you never told me what was in your Amortentia."

"Hm?"

"I told you about mine."

Penelope pauses, lets the question sit in the air for a moment before answering. "What would you say if I told you I've forgotten?"

"I'd say you're a liar, and then I'd say it's okay if you don't want to tell me."

And that's the thing. Penelope does want to tell her, wants to shout it from the rooftops, if Josie wouldn't mind, but it's complicated. She doesn't make a habit out of holding back, quite the opposite actually, but things that concern Josie have always been different. In this instance, Penelope doesn't think the truth is the best idea.

That being said, there's no reason why she can't have a little fun with it.

"I got Honeydukes, the winter season, and someone's perfume."

"What?"

"I said-"

"No, I heard you." Josie's staring down into her mug, as if contemplating something. When she looks up, the expression on her face is pensively blank. "Do you know whose?"

Penelope waits, just a second, before answering. "No," she says, "I couldn't tell."

Josie nods, and if she's seen through the lie, she doesn't call Penelope out for it. "I hope you figure it out. I mean, you love them, right?

If questions were loaded guns, Penelope thinks she'd have been dead ten times over by now.

"The potion seems to think that I do."

"And what about you?" Josie looks up, meeting Penelope's gaze. "What do you think?"

"I think," Penelope says, keeping her voice light, "that love is complex, and multifaceted, and we understand a lot less of it than we think we do."

Josie doesn't reply, just hums in acknowledgement before falling silent. She seems a million miles away right now, and Penelope doesn't want to interrupt her train of thought, so she just sips quietly at her hot cocoa.

Around them, the kitchen is bustling with noise, the clanging of pots and closing of ovens as the house-elves prepare dinner. Penelope just watches, breathes in deeply and wonders if Josie will remember her own Amortentia.

Perhaps it doesn't matter. Penelope likes to think that she's patient, and right now, they've got nothing but time.

 

* * *

 

Josie stares up at the portrait, wondering if trying to give last week's password will get her into trouble.

She isn't even supposed to know the password, Josie isn't a Gryffindor after all, but Hope and Lizzie aren't even covert when they're talking about it, and it's not like she's using it to break in to steal from everyone while they're asleep.

None of that matters though, because she doesn't know this week's password, and Josie isn't about to ask the Fat Lady for it.

She turns around, ready to go back to her own common room and just come back later, and almost runs into Hope, who looks like she's just returned from the library.

"Hey Josie! If you're looking for Lizzie, she's in the library finishing off an essay." Hope grins, and Josie can't help but smile back, the happiness infectious.

"Oh, thanks! I can come back later, do you know when she'll be done?"

Hope shrugs. "Could be ten minutes, could be three hours. Did you need something from the dorms? I can let you in to get it."

"No, I'm fine. Just wanted to talk to her about something."

"Well, I've got some time now, if it's not secret sister business." Hope is still smiling, but the raw delight has faded into something softer. "Lizzie says I'm a good listener."

Josie pauses, considers the suggestion. "You know? I'd like that."

"Cool! Come on, the dorms should be empty right now." Hope turns to the portrait, offering the Fat Lady a wave before saying, "Golden snitch."

The portrait swings open and Hope scrambles through the hole, Josie following more gracefully because she can step over the edge without having to jump.

There are people scattered about the common room, and a game of Exploding Snap happening by the fireplace, but Hope ignores everyone, heading toward the staircase. "Come on, it'll be quieter up there."

Josie follows silently, watching as Hope unceremoniously throws everything in her arms onto her bed before turning and collapsing on Lizzie's.

"Alright, what's up?"

Now that she's here, Josie can't quite find the words to explain the chaos that's brewing in her mind. She sits next to Hope, crossing her legs underneath her.

"I don't … really know what I'm feeling." Josie stares down at her hands, trying to piece her thoughts together. "It's like I'm missing something, but I don't know what it is."

Hope waits a moment before replying, as if making sure that Josie's done speaking. "Is this in general, or regarding a specific thing?"

"I'm not- I don’t know. It's recent, though."

"Okay, when did it start?"

Josie pauses, tries to remember when she'd started to feel as if the jigsaw pieces of her life were falling through her fingers.

"I think … after Potions. After the Amortentia."

Hope gets this look in her eye, as if she knows something, but doesn't want to say it because Josie needs to get there on her own. It's familiar, and when Josie tries to remember where she's seen that expression before, she remembers talking to Penelope in the kitchen, the stillness of the air between them after they'd both fallen silent.

And something shifts in her mind, but it doesn't click just yet.

"Sorry, I don't really know what I'm saying."

"It's okay." Hope reaches to take her hand, and it's then that Josie realizes she's been picking at her fingers. "Sometimes stuff just takes a little longer to figure out, doesn't have to mean anything other than that."

Josie glances up, takes in Hope's gentle smile. "Lizzie was right."

"Hm?"

"You are a good listener."

 "Well, thank you." Hope squeezes Josie's hand once before letting go, falling back so that she's sprawled on the mattress and Josie has to look down at her. "Feel free not to answer this question, by the way, but don't you usually talk stuff out with Pen?"

"I- yeah, but there's something about this. I don't think I can really bring it up with her."

That in itself is odd, because Josie's never felt like she's had to hold any part of herself back before, not when she's with Penelope. They'll talk about everything, and then nothing, and somewhere in the middle of it all Penelope will succeed in making her laugh, even when she feels like crying.

"Maybe you should think about that," Hope says, almost too casual. "Could have something to do with that feeling."

Josie can feel herself getting introspective, so she stands, picking up one of the pillows that's fallen to the ground and throwing it back onto the bed. "Thanks so much for the talk, Hope. It really helped."

"No problem!"

"Tell Lizzie I said hi."

"Will do."

 

* * *

 

On her way out to breakfast, Penelope almost walks straight into Hope, who's lingering suspiciously outside the Slytherin common rooms, looking a bit too guilty for eight in the morning.

"Alright, what did you do."

"Why do you think I did anything?"

"First of all, you're loitering outside my common room, looking like you've accidentally killed my owl."

"I didn't, she's fine."

Penelope rolls her eyes, starting the walk toward the Great Hall and tugging Hope along with her. "I know, so what is it?"

"I might have, uh, accidentally said a bit too much to Josie, when she wanted to talk the other day."

"Mikaelson, you know that I love you, but if you're not going to be more specific I might have to reconsider that."

Hope groans, hits Penelope on the shoulder once. "We were talking about stuff, which I will not disclose because of friendship confidentiality."

"I respect that."

"And she sort of brought you up, and I maybe kind of asked her a leading question, which might have given her something to think about."

Penelope stops at the bottom of the steps that will lead them back up to the Entrance Hall, turns to fix Hope with a stare. "You have, if possible, gotten even more vague than before."

"I don't know how to say this without telling you what we were talking about!"

"Then don't say it, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Hope mutters to herself all the way up the steps, and when they finally emerge into the daylight, she stops walking, pulls them both to the side of the hall. "Look, I can say this. She might come talk to you about the thing, so just, be prepared, I guess."

"I have no idea how I'm going to prepare for an event of which I have no knowledge of, but I'll try my best," Penelope says dryly, turning to continue to the Great Hall. She's hungry, and not even Hope's ramblings can keep her from getting some breakfast.

"I'm just saying! Be ready!"

"What do you expect me to do? Constantly be on the lookout for when Josie might ambush me with hitherto unforeseen questions?"

Hope nods, and it doesn't even look like she's joking. "Yes, that's a great idea."

"That's a terrible idea, and you know it."

"I just don't want you to get caught off guard."

"Is this actually that serious, or are you just going off the rails again?"

"Penelope."

Hope comes to a dead stop, and Penelope doesn't realize until she's halfway across the hall and turns to find that no one is beside her anymore. She spins around, retracing her steps so that she's back in front of Hope again.

"Sorry," Penelope says, pulling her friend into a quick hug before stepping back so that they can look each other in the eye. "I'm sorry, okay?"

For a moment, Hope stays silent, but then she nods, giggles when Penelope reaches to mess with her hair before patting it back down.

"And I'm sure it's fine," Penelope continues. "Whatever it is, it'll be fine."

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Will you be fine?"

Penelope considers the question, thinks about the thousand and one things Josie could say to her that would break her heart, then she shrugs, pointedly ignores Hope's concerned frown.

"Don't worry about it," she says, flinging an arm around Hope's shoulders and pulling her close. "I'll be okay."

Hope laughs, fakes a struggle for half a second before returning the hug.

"If anyone hurts you, I'll kill them. You know that right?"

"I can probably do it myself."

"I know." Hope hugs tighter for a moment before letting go. "But I'll do it for you anyway."

 

* * *

 

"So, what's on your mind?"

Josie swallows her mouthful of toast, sneaks a glance at Lizzie before answering. "What makes you think there's something on my mind?"

"Well, it's breakfast time, and we're out here taking a walk."

"It's a nice day."

"It is, but my girl's inside. And so is yours."

"She's not my girl," Josie says, a bit too quickly. "I mean, whatever. Can't I want to hang out with my sister?"

"Sure you can, but you haven't said anything for ten minutes, and you're thinking really loudly."

Josie sighs, flings the last bit of her toast out onto the lake and watches as the Giant Squid reaches to drag it into the water.

"I'm in the process of figuring something out," she says finally. "And I talked to Hope about it, which helped, but I still don't really know what I'm thinking."

"Just out of curiosity, how long have you been sitting on this?"

"Uh, since the Potions lesson where we made Amortentia."

Lizzie stops walking, reaches to sling an arm around Josie's elbow so that she'll stop too.

"Let me get this straight."

"A first for you, but go ahead."

"Shut up," Lizzie says, no trace of malice in her tone whatsoever. "You've been thinking about this for like, three weeks, and it all started after that lesson with the Amortentia."

"More or less, yeah."

"And … you don't see a connection there?"

Josie frowns, tries to connect the dots in her head but comes up short. "No, not really."

Lizzie looks at her like she's lost all her marbles.

"Really? Nothing?"

"Why? Do you have something?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you."

"What! Why not?"

"You've got to figure it out for yourself."

Josie crosses her arms, tries her best at a menacing stare that evidently does not work at all, considering the fact that Lizzie just looks supremely unimpressed.

"I thought having a twin meant you could tell me what I'm thinking but apparently not!"

"Just because I know what you're thinking, doesn't mean I have to tell you," Lizzie says, sounding very amused. "Sometimes you just have to ponder a little."

"I've pondered a lot!"

"Try a different angle, then."

Josie huffs, stomps her foot, but Lizzie doesn't look like she's budging anytime soon.

"I don't know what's going on with me," she says finally, shoulders slumping in defeat. "And I can't even talk to Penelope about it."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't feel like I should, and I don't know why."

"Well, what would you say to her if you did talk to her about it?"

"I guess, just that I'm trying to figure something out, and looking at her makes me feel a little weird on the inside."

Lizzie blinks, looks at her as if she's expecting Josie to come to a realization, and when it doesn't happen just sighs. "Okay, what kind of weird? Good? Bad?"

Josie pauses, thinks about it for a moment, considers the way Penelope's smile makes her feel, like there's a sun rising in her chest. "I guess, good? It would be better if it weren't so confusing."

"Do you remember when I liked Hope but we weren't dating yet? And you'd get so annoyed because I wouldn't stop talking about her."

"Yeah?"

"Remember when I tried to explain how she made me feel?"

"And I didn't get it because you were just saying words that made no sense."

"Right, but do they make sense now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about that feeling you get when you look at Penelope, then try to explain it to me."

Josie acquiesces, mostly because at this point, she's run out of options.

"It's warm? But not uncomfortable, and it makes me feel safe. I don't hate it, even though it also makes me a little anxious."

Lizzie nods, as if asking her to carry on.

"I guess it's like standing at the edge of a cliff, but not really being afraid of falling. Sometimes, it's like I want to fall."

When Josie looks up, her sister is smiling, gentle and knowing.

"Jo, you're saying words that make no sense."

And somehow, in that moment, it clicks.

Josie stares out across the lake, wonders why it'd taken her so long to come to this conclusion.

"Penelope already knows," she says, gaze darting back to her sister, who looks extremely proud of herself right now.

"Probably." Lizzie shrugs, as if her interest in this conversation has taken an immediate nosedive now that they've gotten over the interesting part. "You know how she is."

"I have to talk to her."

"That seems like a good idea, yeah."

Josie starts walking backwards toward the school, slowly picking up speed. "Thank you for the talk!"

Lizzie waves, laughing when Josie finally turns around and starts running.

"No problem! Go get your girl!"

 

* * *

 

Penelope is on her bed, reading a book about the history of the Disillusionment Charm, when Josie bursts into the dorms, looking like she's tripped down the steps that lead to their common room.

"Pen!"

"Hey Jojo, you okay?"

Josie waves the question away before bending over, hands on knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Did you run all the way here?"

"Yes, but that’s not important."

"Okay," Penelope says, drawing the vowel out as she watches Josie straighten up. "What is, then?"

"I have a question for you."

"If possible, I have an answer."

"Just, be honest. Okay?"

Penelope closes her book, putting it aside. "Josie, what happened? Are you sure you're fine?"

Josie's nodding before Penelope even finishes asking her question. "Yes, yeah. I'm great. Just promise me you'll answer my question honestly."

"Sure, I promise."

"Okay, alright." Josie wrings her hands, seeming to psych herself up. "Pen are you, by any chance, in love with me?"

The question comes as such a surprise that Penelope doesn't even think before answering, letting her instinct work for her.

"Yeah, why?"

It's only after her words are out in the air between them that she realizes what she's just admitted.

For her part, Josie just looks relieved.

“Oh, good. This would’ve been really embarrassing if your answer was no.”

Penelope feels like she’s lost track of the conversation. In fact, she doesn’t think she’s ever had a grasp on it at all.

“Wait, what?”

Josie blinks at her, as if suddenly realising that they’re both still here and Penelope has essentially just confessed her love.

“Oh! Right, sorry.” She grins sheepishly, shoulders rising in a half-shrug. “I love you too.”

Penelope feels like she’s got mental whiplash from the trajectory of the conversation.

“What?” she asks, still very confused. “Where is this coming from?”

“I talked to Hope, and then Lizzie, because I couldn’t figure out what I was feeling, and then I got it. I love you, that’s all.” Josie snaps her fingers, eyes lighting up as if she’s just remembered something. “The kitchen! That’s what my Amortentia smelled like, it was the kitchen because I’m always there with you."

It's a point of pride for Penelope that she has excellent adaptability. Life moves quickly, and she'd learned early on that the only way to win is to stay ahead, so she does. But right now she's definitely not above admitting that she's never been more lost.

“Hold on, sorry, it’s taking me a while to catch up.”

Josie smiles at her. "Take your time," she says, so earnestly genuine that Penelope just loses her train of thought for a second.

It takes her about a minute to recalibrate, and Josie stands there all the while, waiting patiently.

"So, you're not mad that I love you," Penelope says finally, once she thinks she's come to terms with the current situation. She's still a little lost, but less so than before.

"Not at all." Josie looks confused by the question. "Why would I be?"

"I guess I just didn't know what to expect and planned for the worst." Penelope shrugs, dragging her hand through her hand. "I'm sorry for lying to you."

A look of panic crosses Josie's face, and upon realizing the reason why, Penelope rushes to correct herself.

"Not about loving you! I do love you, a lot. I meant the other day in the kitchen, when I said I didn't recognize the perfume in my Amortentia."

"Oh, right." Josie appears to consider the explanation, and Penelope can tell she's understood when a flush starts creeping onto her face. "Right," she repeats, gaze darting to the ground.

"Hey, you don't get to be shy now. You're the one who came busting in here asking if I love you."

"That was the adrenaline talking!"

"Adrenaline from what?"

"Realizing that I love you!"

"Oh, good answer."

Josie huffs and Penelope grins, finally getting up from the bed so she can pad quietly over to stand in front of the other girl.

"You don't regret it, right?" she asks softly.

"No," Josie says immediately, not needing clarification on the admittedly vague question. "The only thing I regret is not figuring it out sooner." She wraps her arms around Penelope's waist, drawing her closer. "We lost a lot of time."

"Time spent with you," Penelope says, instinctively reaching to rest her own arms loosely around Josie's shoulders, "is not lost at all."

Josie grins in a dopey, moonstruck way, brown eyes bright and happy in the semi-darkness of the Slytherin dorms. Penelope smiles back, and for the first time in her life, there is nothing on her mind but wild, blooming joy.

 

* * *

 

Josie wakes up and for a moment feels disoriented because the bedside table is on her right instead of her left.

Then she registers the warmth tucked into her side, soft exhales fanning over her collarbone, the way the sheets are kicked all the way down to the end of the bed even though she isn't a restless sleeper.

And maybe she's moving too quickly here, but if every morning for the rest of her life started like this, she wouldn't be mad about it.

Next to her, Penelope is still asleep, snuffling softly even as Josie shifts, just slightly, to accommodate her better.

It's definitely not early, because the rest of the dorm is empty, but neither of them have class until the afternoon, and Josie honestly doesn't think breakfast is worth extracting herself from Penelope's arms.

But she's also pretty sure that they have about twenty minutes before Lizzie somehow manages to acquire the password to the Slytherin common room, and that Hope won't stop her from bursting in here.

Josie closes her eyes, gives herself a minute to enjoy the moment, before slowly sitting up. Penelope, whose head had previously been on Josie's shoulder, settles onto the pillow instead, but doesn't stir. She does, however, reach out, seemingly instinctively, in search of the warmth she'd just lost.

The subconscious reaction makes Josie smile, makes her want to lie back down and stay in bed until they have to get up to go to Defence, but she knows she shouldn't.

Still, she does feel like she's exercising an enormous amount of self-restraint right now, and should probably feel proud of herself for it.

The sheets rustle as she moves, reaching to gently brush her fingers across Penelope's face.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Time to get up."

Penelope murmurs something incomprehensible, and Josie watches as she slowly wakes up, blinking blearily in the muted sunshine that's splashed across the room.

"What time is it?" she asks, voice low and scratchy.

Josie blinks at her, tries not to think impure thoughts. "Uh, I don't know. But I think breakfast will be over soon."

"We should go get some, then."

Penelope pulls into a stretch, her shirt arcing up to follow her movements.

Josie stands, puts some distance between herself and the bed because she doesn't trust her actions right now.

When she turns back, Penelope is gazing up at her with a worried frown.

"You okay?"

The question is so delightfully youthful that Josie can't help but laugh, sitting back down and reaching to take the other girl's hands.

"I'm fine," she says. "Perfect."

Penelope grins sleepily, eyes still half-lidded. "That's good."

For a moment, they just look at each other, and Josie wonders how it's possible for her to miss someone who's right there in front of her.

"We should go get breakfast, your sister's probably on her way here to break in right now."

Josie huffs, but she stands again, this time pulling Penelope with her, so that they're toe to toe on the carpeted floor.

"Okay, but only because I know you're right."

"I'm always right," Penelope says, and Josie can tell she's more awake now because of the sharpness to her words.

"Sure, let's go with that."

 

✧

 

By the time they get down to breakfast, the Great Hall is already half empty.

Penelope leads them over to the Gryffindor table, where Hope and Lizzie are having what looks to be a serious conversation.

"Good morning," Josie says once they draw closer, taking a seat next to her sister while Penelope drops down next to Hope.

Lizzie peers suspiciously at her, but doesn't say anything other than, "You're up late today."

"Didn't have a morning class." Josie reaches for the orange juice, doesn't acknowledge that fact that her sister is still waiting for a better explanation. "What were you and Hope talking about?"

"She was wondering if I knew the Slytherin common room password." Hope answers the question, squaring her shoulders when Lizzie turns to glare at her instead. "What? It's the truth."

"She knew last week's," Penelope adds, almost absentmindedly, as she butters some toast.

"Maybe I don't like how you guys always know the Gryffindor password," Lizzie says, crossing her arms.

"Maybe you and Hope shouldn't throw it around so much." Penelope finally looks up, casually spinning the butterknife between her fingers. "It's not like we ever ask for it."

Josie can feel the beginnings of a baseless argument start to form, and she looks at Hope, a silent plea for help.

Hope gives her a subtle nod before turning to Lizzie. "Babe, we should get going if we don't want to be late to Magical Creatures."

There is a tense second in which nobody speaks, but then Lizzie looks away from Penelope, shoulders relaxing when she meets Hope's eyes. "Right, yeah. Okay."

They both stand, offering quiet goodbyes before walking off.

Josie sighs, reaching for the scrambled eggs. "It's too early to pick fights," she says.

"I wasn't picking a fight, I was just making an observation."

"An observation that would have led to a fight, and you know it."

"We wouldn't have let it get that far." Penelope takes a bite of her toast, shrugging as she chews. "Don't worry, your sister and I have a system."

Josie's never heard of this so-called system, but decides that, at this point, she's too afraid to ask.

Instead, she eats a forkful of scrambled eggs, watches as Penelope hums quietly to herself and wonders if it's too soon to ask her out.

"Did you finish your essay?"

Josie blinks, realizes she'd checked out of reality for a bit there. "Huh?"

"Your essay for Defence." Penelope glances curiously at her. "The one that's due next period."

"Oh, uh, yeah I think so. The one on the magical properties of Doxie venom?"

"Yeah, that one. I'm not done yet, but it's fine."

Josie pauses, looks up at the other girl, who's busy pouring herself another cup of tea, looking blissfully unpanicked at the prospect of not having a full essay to hand in.

"It's due next period," she says slowly.

"I know."

"Next period starts in twenty minutes."

"I know," Penelope repeats, smiling amusedly at Josie's concerned expression. "It'll be fine."

And it usually is, even though she always seems to finish her essays two minutes before they're due. Josie doesn't know whether she should be jealous or impressed.

When Penelope just keeps smiling at her, head tilting slightly to the left, looking impossibly soft in the morning sunlight, she settles for hopelessly endeared instead.

"You're something else, Penelope Park."

"Thank you, Josie Saltzman. I think you're pretty amazing too."

 

* * *

 

Back when they'd chosen their subjects, Penelope had point-blank refused to take Divination, while Josie had decided to give it a chance.

She's of the opinion that she'd made the right choice, because Ancient Runes isn't even that difficult, and she doesn't have to stare into a crystal ball for an hour every week.

Josie says she doesn't mind Divination because it's mostly mindless work, and Penelope is in no position to disagree with her. Usually, she'd be a little sad that they'd have to part ways after Defence, but today Penelope is secretly relieved that she has a free during Divination lessons.

After seeing Josie off to the odd little trapdoor that leads to the classroom, she turns and heads straight back to the Slytherin common room, knowing that she has at most an hour and a half before classes let out and everyone starts heading to the Great Hall for dinnertime.

To be absolutely honest, Penelope is still reeling a little from the events of the previous day. They hadn't really had a chance to talk about it, because of class, and just the general presence of other people. But when she'd settled down that night, Josie had crawled into bed next to her, wordlessly pulling her close before falling asleep almost immediately.

Waking up to Josie's fingers dancing across her cheek had felt too good to be true. For a moment, in that hazy space between waking and sleeping, Penelope had thought she'd still been dreaming.

Reality has rarely been kind to her, but she thinks that perhaps it's time for her luck to turn around.

That doesn't mean she's just going to sit back and see where life takes her, Penelope is a firm believer of making things happen for herself. If she's going to ask Josie to be her girlfriend, she's going to do it in style.

 

✧

 

The plan is more easily executable than previously anticipated.

Penelope makes a quick visit to the kitchens, cashes in a favour with the house-elves, who are all too happy to help once they hear what she's up to.

Then it's just making sure everything else is set up, which is simple enough considering she has magic to help her.

She knows classes have let out when the castle starts to get noisy again, with the shuffle of footsteps down corridors and bangs of classroom doors flying open.

Penelope weaves through the crowd, glad to note that it's still parting for her even though she hasn't hexed anyone publicly in about a year.

The northern side of the castle is considerably quieter, and she makes it to the bottom of the tower right as the trapdoor falls open and the rope ladder gets thrown out.

Josie is one of the last ones out, which isn't saying much because it's a small class, but Penelope knows she probably let everyone go in front her.

"Had fun?" she asks in lieu of an actual greeting, reaching to steady the ladder so that it doesn't swing wildly while Josie tries to descend.

"Yes, actually." Josie hops down, dusts her hands off before beaming happily at Penelope. "Tea leaves are fun because I get to drink the tea."

"Well, I hope you're still hungry."

"Oh, I'm starving. I just need to drop off my books, then we can go to dinner."

Penelope hums her acknowledgement, unconsciously reaches over to take Josie's books from her before starting the trek back to their common room.

Neither of them make any comment about it, and Penelope doesn't even realize she's done it until they're back in the dorms and she's depositing the books neatly onto the desk that sits opposite her bed.

"Thanks for carrying them," Josie says softly, and the smile she's wearing is so heartbreakingly tender that Penelope almost forgets to respond.

She decides to hide the momentary falter by doing what she does best, being extraordinarily dramatic. Penelope sinks into a low bow, grinning when she hears Josie's breathless laugh. "It was my honour," she says.

Josie pulls her back upright, drops a kiss on the top of her head before saying, "You're being a fool."

Penelope just grins, takes Josie's hands and squeezes gently.

"Only for you."

 

* * *

 

Josie doesn't realize where she's being led until she's standing at the base of the Astronomy tower.

"This isn't the Great Hall," she says.

"Keen observation skills, Jojo. Wouldn't want to be against you in a duel."

They start up the steps, with Penelope in front but walking backwards, tugging on their joined hands.

"You're going to trip."

"No, I'm not."

Josie lets them ascend three more steps before she pulls, expecting Penelope to fall into her, but what happens instead is that she's launched forward.

Penelope, whose feet had stayed firmly glued to the ground, has to catch her.

"What are you doing?"

"Why was I the one who fell?"

"Anti-tripping charm, why do you think I was so confident about climbing a winding staircase backwards?"

Josie huffs, pushes herself back to her feet before starting the climb again, pointedly ignoring Penelope's proud smirk.

"Maybe you should share your spells sometimes."

"I didn't think you needed it! How was I supposed to know you were going to try to kill the both of us?"

"I would've caught you."

They've reached the top, but Penelope pauses on the landing, blocking Josie's view of the tower.

"I know," she says. "You always do."

Josie's about to ask what exactly she means when Penelope steps aside and finally lets her out onto the top of the tower.

In the distance, the sun is just setting to set, bleeding red and purple across the horizon and casting long shadows over the castle grounds.

It's all very beautiful, but Josie's attention is on other things. Like the fairy-lights that are suspended in the air, floating serenely over the picnic blanket that's loaded with food that looks suspiciously familiar.

"Is all of that from tonight's dinner?"

Penelope has her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, looking altogether too bashful for a girl who had set this all up entirely unprompted. "I might have cashed in a favour with the elves, they were all too happy to help when I explained my whole plan."

Josie turns back to the blanket, spots a whole platter of custard tarts and wonders what she'd ever done to get this lucky.

"Come on, didn't you say you were starving?"

Penelope pulls her over to the blanket, pushes gently on her shoulders so that she sits down.

"Are we going to get in trouble for being here?"

"Not if we don't get caught."

Josie, who already has a mouthful of chips, pauses in her chewing, eyes widening in alarm as she glances quickly toward the staircase, as if she's expecting someone to appear and give them detention.

Penelope laughs, the sound like silver bells in the cooling evening. "We'll be fine Jojo, don't worry. I wouldn't let you get into trouble."

"I feel like you shouldn't speak too soon."

"You've never had to serve a detention in your life!"

It's true, and if Josie's being honest with herself, Penelope has gotten her out of trouble more times than she's been the cause of it.

Still, it's always fun to tease her, if only to see the way her brows furrow when she's pretending to be mad.

"We're not even halfway through the year and you've already had four."

"That's one less than last year, so as far as I'm concerned, there's been an improvement."

Penelope crosses her arms, looks off into the distance for what Josie assumes is dramatic effect. In the light of the setting sun, she's half-cast in shadows, a caricature of light and dark, all sharp angles and soft edges.

Josie knows that Penelope has always been a girl of contradictions.

She's icy glares but warm smiles, quick to snap but endlessly patient. There is something effortlessly elegant about her, something graceful and vicious at the same time.

Sometimes, Josie can't quite believe that the girl who's willing to explain a concept to her four times over is the same girl who had sent three boys flying down the hall because they'd annoyed her once.

The same girl who's looking at her right now, with bedroom eyes and the flicker of a grin, as if she has no idea how she makes Josie feel.

Because there's no way Penelope doesn't know; not when Josie's so bad at hiding it, so unwilling to hide it, now that she's laid all her cards out onto the table. Now that she's placed her heart carefully into Penelope's hands, trusting the other girl not to crush it into a million tiny pieces.

So maybe she can never concentrate on something whenever Penelope's in the same room, or the mention of her name is enough to make Josie lose her train of thought. Maybe, when Penelope looks at her, Josie feels like her entire life has led up to that one, crystalline moment.

It's possible that she's fallen too hard, too fast, and this night will one day become a memory that hurts more than it heals. But none of that matters right now. Because right now the sky is a blaze of pink and gold, and Josie is sitting in front of the prettiest girl in the world.

She doesn't have time for regret when she's too busy falling in love.

 

* * *

 

Penelope knows she's getting nervous when she starts playing with her fingers.

She also knows that she has no reason to be, but no amount of logic is going to slow her racing heart.

No one else can pull this kind of reaction from her, and she would feel annoyed if she weren't so endeared by everything Josie does.

"You're being dumb," she mutters under her breath, flattening her hands over her knees so she can't pull at her fingers anymore.

"Hm?"

Penelope looks up, sees Josie leaning forward to catch her next words, and laughs. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Josie takes the answer as it is, simply bobbing her head in acknowledgement. But instead of leaning back, she stays close, eyes searching Penelope's face.

"What?"

"Nothing," Josie says quietly, lips pulling up into a pretty grin. "I love you."

And Penelope doesn't know what makes her throw her whole planned speech away, but she immediately forgets everything she'd written down, just smiles back at Josie and asks, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

If the question comes as a surprise, Josie doesn't show it, just grins wider, leans in to press her forehead to Penelope's.

"Yeah," she says. "Yes, of course I will."

Penelope thinks that, just maybe, this is the happiest she's ever been.

"Really? I mean, yeah. Good, I thought you would."

Josie huffs out a laugh. "Did you know that you're actually a big softie?"

"Yes, but it's a secret. Don't tell anyone else."

"Okay, I won't."

"Promise?"

Penelope hears her own voice, knows that she's asking so much more than she's said out loud.

Josie sees right through it, smiles in that way that makes Penelope feel warm all over.

"Yeah," she says. "I promise."

And Penelope believes her.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I want to preface this whole thing with the fact that this is essentially the first thing I've written for these girls, so please forgive me if there are any inconsistencies or errors in characterization. I tried my best but the show didn't really give us a lot to work with so if you want to blame someone it shouldn't be me!
> 
> Anyway, you can find me on Tumblr [@softpluto](http://taylorswift.co.vu) and on Twitter [@scorpiowaltz](http://twitter.com/scorpiowaltz) where I claim that requests are open but the truth of that statement has yet to be confirmed. You're welcome to try your luck though.
> 
> While I'm here I'd like to say thank you to everyone who ever comments on my stuff, I read them all even though I don't reply! If you think I haven't seen your comment you're wrong, I've seen it all multiple times. I appreciate each and every single one of you who take time out of your days to tell me what you think! And I'm always happy to see a new comment pop up.
> 
> The title is from Venus by Sleeping At Last!
> 
> Alright I think that's it. Until next time, catch ya' on the flipside!


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